On my road to veganism, fish was the last animal I stopped eating. For some reason, in my mind fishes are not as sensitive as mammals, and did not provoke as much empathy in me as a calf or a lamb for instance. Fishes are cold blooded, and just don’t seem to be much aware of what’s going on.
Fishes have a bad reputation. We’ve invented expressions such as “cold like a fish” or having “fish memory”. We call a stupid person a fish, and many other times we use the name of this poor animal to describe negative attributes in people.
I also used to think that fishes don't suffer as much when they are killed, and that's how I justified my weekly fried fish at the beach on Sundays. It's funny what we're capable of telling ourselves in order to not feel guilty.
Why are we so mean toward fish?
Fish are actually much more intelligent than we give them credit for:
According to Culum Brown from Macquarie University, "Fish are more intelligent than they appear. In many areas, such as memory, their cognitive powers match or exceed those of ‘higher’ vertebrates including non-human primates.”
...A number of studies have shown that fish can retain information for months or years. Anecdotally, channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) can remember the human voice call announcing food five years after last hearing that call. Goldfish remember the colour of a tube dispensing food one year after the last tube presentation….Some common rudd and European chub could remember the person who trained them to feed from the hand, even after a 6-month break….Crimson-spotted rainbowfish can learn how to escape from a trawl by swimming through a small hole in the center and they remember this technique 11 months later….Rainbow trout can be trained to press a bar to get food, and they remember this three months after last seeing the bar..Several fish species are capable of learning complex spatial relationships and forming cognitive maps…
I apologize for the long quoting of Wikipedia, but it is all pretty amazing and I didn’t want to cut off any of this information. The more I read about fishes, the more respect I develop for this animal species.
I remember reading a story about a Japanese scuba diver who formed a friendly bond with a fish. He saved him when the fish was injured and fed him for 10 days, and every since the fish swims toward him and greets the man for 30 years already. You can view their fascinating story here:
Fish can form friendships with humans
Fish may not be furry and as cute as a kitten, but they are able to recognize human faces and ask for affection just like a cat or a dog.
My mother used to have a pond with some goldfish, and every time she approached the pond they would come swimming toward her. On the other hand, whenever I approached, they swam away. This further demonstrates that goldfish were able to recognize her as the person who feeds them, and make the difference between us. This is pretty amazing when you think about it!
Many fish also like to be pet and truly enjoy human touch!
Where am I going with this?
If fish can recognize faces, feel affection and even create relationships or friendships with humans, they can also feel fear and pain.
Please take a look at these fish caught for human consumption below. All you have to do is look into their eyes. It’s impossible to deny that these poor creatures are panicking, the same way a cow or pig does when they are about to be slaughtered.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmcE5eslu2J/?taken-by=thehumaneleague
What I’m trying to convey is that we should not consider fish as a lower class animal. All animals are aware of what is happening to them and are sentient beings. I hope that the story of the Japanese scuba diver made you smile, and that you felt at least a tiny bit sad for the dying fish in the Instagram video above. If I've accomplished at least one of these things, it means that you can feel too and I’m sorry that I just spoiled your next sushi meal (NOT!).
PS: Please don't ever get a fish as a pet. There’s nothing more sad than a fish confined in an aquarium, even if you smother it with affection!
Cheers!
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_intelligence